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Beckett, Martinez could learn from Lackey

“Now,” the pitcher said while walking out of the Red Sox’ minor league training facility, “all I have to do is remember everybody’s name. I need a phonebook.”

Lackey has discovered in the last few days that one of the immediate perks of signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal is that anxiety is now limited to name recollection. The life that comes with living in a contract year has been passed on to others.

“It’s only natural to think about it,” said Lackey’s agent, Steve Hilliard, referring to the temptation of a player to worry about life after the last year of his contract. “But once John got into the season he had an incredible ability to focus solely on the task at hand.”

And it paid off.

After some initial distraction, Lackey was able to approach his contract year with unwavering focus. The result was a good enough season that he was handed his dream contract with the Red Sox. And with that deal came the kind of peace of mind that the 31-year-old was able to exude both during and after throwing his 40-pitch bullpen session.

“It was definitely different,” said Lackey of playing in his contract year. “You say you don’t think about it, but it crosses your mind every now and then. Once I kind of came to a spot a little bit into the season, I just thought it was going to take care of itself. It was a couple of starts deep when I just said, ‘Forget it, whatever happens, happens. It will be there. If I do my thing and perform like I can I’ll get taken care of.’”

Watching Lackey go about his business in completely new surroundings, in front of the kind of media throng unseen in Angels Land, it was clear he had done something right. And whatever it was, it would seem as though the likes of Beckett and Martinez might want to take heed.

“[Beckett] is a different guy, but he is in the same boat,” Lackey said. “If he pitches the way he can, it will take care of [itself]. I would just say handle your business and things take care of themselves.”

But it was Martinez who offered perhaps the best juxtaposition Thursday.

Just after Lackey glided out of the complex, having run through the obligatory gamut of media inquiries, the Red Sox’ catcher arrived. While Martinez unpacked his belongings into a locker, a string of media waited to ask the questions befitting somebody heading into his contract year.

Martinez ultimately finished his moving job, and politely offered up his time to answer the kind of queries he undoubtedly knew were coming.

“Who [doesn't] want to be here in the long term?” asked Martinez. “This is the organization, this is the team that everybody wishes to play here, especially a team that is always in the race, always in the playoffs. As a baseball player, that’s what you want. That’s what you work for. You work really hard to make it to the playoffs and get a ring.”

Barring a contract extension, this was only the beginning. And in a few days, when he takes to the press conference bench, it will be Beckett’s turn.

The pattern isn’t anything new. Just ask Lackey.

“I remember last year before spring training we sat down and went through the whole analysis, what would be acceptable (for a contract extension) and what wouldn’t,” Hilliard remembered. “It certainly is something that is in a player’s mind when they know there is a contract extension.

“We really wanted to try and get something resolved, or if we couldn’t agree with the Angels then we just wanted to resolve it one way or another. We thought we had enough time in spring training to resolve it, and if it works out great, if not then we’ll move on.”

An agreement wasn’t nailed down, and Lackey took his uncertainty into the regular season (along with the insecurity that came with an elbow injury). But, as he points out, spring training is one thing and the real games are another, and in the pitcher’s mind, one is built for contract discussions while the other has no room for negotiations.

That was Lackey’s approach and it worked for him. Now it’s time to see if his lessons can benefit the Red Sox’ potential free agents-to-be.

“I didn’t want to negotiate during the season,” Lackey said. “I wanted to focus on winning and I didn’t want it to be a distraction for me or the team. Guys don’t want to answer questions about me and my contract. I really kind of put it aside after that and had a nice run at the end of the season. It all worked out.”

Based on the apparent comfort of Lackey’s existence on Thursday, nobody’s going to argue that.

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